KOTA BHARU: Bazar Ramadan di perkarangan Stadium Sultan Muhammad IV yang ditutup semalam susulan khemah jualan rosak akibat hujan lebat dan ribut, kini sudah dibuka semula pada hari ini.

Menurut penganjur utama bazar Ramadan, Tun Ahmad Luqman Tun Mohamad, sebaik dimaklumkan mengenai insiden itu, pihaknya segera membaik pulih khemah yang rosak dan kerja-kerja pendawaian elektrik kurang dalam tempoh 24 jam bagi membolehkan bazar berkenaan kembali beroperasi seperti sedia kala.

Katanya, selepas semua kerosakan siap dibaik pulih, peniaga juga mula membuat persiapan untuk memulakan perniagaan mereka pada petang ini.

"Alhamdulillah janji kami sebagai penganjur kepada semua peniaga dan pelanggan dapat ditunaikan kerana kerosakan siap dibaik pulih lebih awal.

"Pada masa sama, kami sebagai pihak penganjur juga meminta maaf kepada peniaga di atas insiden yang berlaku dan berharap pengunjung akan kembali memeriahkan bazar Ramadan pada hari ini," katanya.

Sementara itu, peniaga bazar Ramadan, Nor Syazani Ikhwan Nor Zhahrulshah, 25, bersyukur kerana kerosakan di tapak bazar berkenaan dibaik pulih oleh pihak penganjur dengan begitu cepat.

"Saya dimaklumkan kesemua kerosakan itu siap dibaik pulih pada jam 1 pagi tadi dan kebanyakan peniaga bersyukur mereka dapat kembali mencari rezeki semula pada hari ini.

"Bagaimanapun, saya akan mula berniaga pada hari esok kerana perlu melakukan beberapa persiapan," katanya.

Semalam dilaporkan sebanyak 25 daripada 60 khemah jualan bazar Ramadan di perkarangan Stadium Sultan Muhammad IV rosak akibat hujan lebat dan ribut awal pagi.

Dalam kejadian jam 3 pagi itu menyebabkan lebih 40 peniaga kini resah apabila melihat gerai mereka rosak ditimpa khemah yang runtuh.

The west coast of Peninsular Malaysia is expected to be hit by thunderstorms and flash floods, especially urban areas such as Kuala Lumpur, with the arrival of the inter-monsoon season next month.

As the northeast monsoon season reaches the tail end, the inter-monsoon period typically follows in April and May before the southwest monsoon cycle begins in June.

Climatologist Prof Dr Fredolin Tangang said the southwest monsoon will bring dry and hot weather and possibly hazy skies, especially if forest fires break out not only within the country but also in the south of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

“As we progress into the rest of March and the next few months, the Madden-julian Oscillation (MJO) and Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation (Bsiso) could exert their impact on weather and short-term climatic conditions of either dry and hot or wet conditions depending on the phases of these phenomena.

“We will also face the equinox on March 21.

“Without sufficient cloud cover, the equinox can increase incoming solar radiation and surface heat absorption. This can also drive heat waves if it is present during the suppressed convection phase of MJO,” said Tangang, who is a fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.

MJO is a tropical weather pattern that moves eastward around the globe, bringing alternating periods of rainfall and dry conditions every 30 to 60 days.

Quite similar to MJO is Bsiso, which is specifically active during the Northern Hemisphere summer between May and October.

It consists of 30 to 90-day oscillations that move northward and eastward, affecting South-east Asian monsoons and weather patterns.

Tangang said according to the Apec Climate Centre, there is a 70% likelihood of temperature in the region to be above normal for the rest of the year, which is possibly driven by global warming and rising greenhouse gases concentration.

Sultan Mizan Antarctic

Research Foundation climatologist and meteorological expert Prof Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah said with the country currently undergoing La Nina weather conditions, cloudy skies are shielding against solar radiation and keeping temperatures lower.

“This means the radiation is evaporating water instead of being transformed into heat and raising the surface temperature.

“Hence, we may not see temperatures as high as 40ºc as that recorded in Chuping (Perlis) in the past under the El Nino phenomenon,” he said.

On concerns of water levels at dams during the southwest monsoon season, Azizan said as rain increases by up to 20% during La Nina, supply should be sufficient.

“However, water conservation and educating the public to be less wasteful is a good thing to promote. Some figures report that Malaysia’s per capita consumption of water is about 230 litres per day while Singapore’s is about 150 litres per day.

“We can also have more rain harvesting for industries that consume large amounts of water. To encourage conservation and recycling, we may need to consider the unpopular option of increasing water tariffs,” he said.

KOTA KINABALU: A total of 418 people from 121 families have been evacuated due to flooding in Beaufort on Friday morning, and Membakut was the next district to be inundated yesterday.

The Sabah Disaster Management Committee Secretariat, in a statement yesterday, said 374 people from 106 families were evacuated to a relief centre at Dewan Selagon.

Another 44 victims from 15 families were relocated to Dewan Datuk Sri Panglima Mohd Dun Banir. “Ten villages in Beaufort have been affected by the floods.”

The floods also struck Membakut yesterday morning, prompting the opening of a shelter at Dewan Kesenian Islam Membakut.

In Melaka, floods that began on Thursday showed signs of full recovery yesterday.

Melaka Civil Defence Force director Lieutenant-Colonel (PA) Kamarulsyah Muslim said nine evacuees from three families were at relief centres statewide, down from 32 people from 11 families on Friday night.

He said remaining evacuees were housed at SK Parit Penghulu in Sungai Rambai, Jasin.

Another relief centre at SMK Dato’ Abdul Rahman Ya’kub in Merlimau, which houses 25 people from eight families, was closed at 10.40pm on Friday.

Earlier, 37 areas in Melaka Tengah and Jasin were affected by flooding after heavy overnight rain from 11pm on Wednesday.

KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Mac: Gempa bumi sederhana berukuran 5.2 pada skala Richter melanda Utara Sumatera, Indonesia, 8.42 malam tadi.

Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia (MetMalaysia) dalam kenyataan memaklumkan gempa dengan kedalaman 80 kilometer (km) itu berlaku pada jarak 69km Barat dari Banda Acheh, Indonesia.

Bagaimanapun, tiada ancaman tsunami kepada Malaysia. -TVS